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NEW! Mobile App Has Amazing Pictures of Unborn Babies, Helps Women / Conception to Birth by TheVisualMD.com for iPad
NEW! Commission on the Status of Women Concludes, Abortion Activists Fail
NEW! Pro-Life Businessman Purchases Former Michigan Abortion Shop
NEW! University Calls Pro-Life Display Too Controversial, Faces Lawsuit
NEW! Support for Roe Inflated When Pew Asks False Polling Question
The Day that Changed Carrie's Life
40 Days for Life Spring Campaign of 2013
9 People You Should Know About, Who Were Adopted
Op-Ed: The Media’s Abortion Blinders
QuickStats: Infant Mortality Rates,* by Race and Hispanic Ethnicity of Mother — United States, 2000, 2005, and 2009
QuickStats: Percentage of Adults Aged ≥18 Years Who Often Felt Depressed,* by Sex and Age Group — National Health Interview Survey, United States, 2010–2011†
Invasive Cancer Incidence — United States, 2009
Obama Tells NARAL: We Celebrate Roe, 55 Million Abortions
NYC Schools Give 12,000 Plan B Drugs to Kids WITHOUT Parents OK
Black Pro-Lifer Files Lawsuit Against NAACP
78% of Pregnant Women Who See Ultrasound of Unborn Child Reject Abortion
Parental Consent Laws Cut Teen Abortions by 18.7 Percent
Americans United For Life Releases New Guidebook “Confronting Big Abortion in the 40th Year of Roe”
Reproductive Justice? Not for Men Hurt By Abortion
Roe’s Multiplier Effect: Generations Dead From Abortion
New Invention Could Help Reduce Sudden Infant Death Syndrome
A Pro-Life Pioneer: Looking at Monica Miller’s Book "Abandoned"
Funeral Procession Held for Aborted Babies in South Africa
Beloved Pro-Life Leader Dies, Modeled Mercy and Justice
Why My Support for Abortion Was Based on Love…And Lies
Legislator's Sunset Memorial Speech
Roe v. Wade Attorney Betrayed and Underestimated Women
PLANNED PARENTHOOD
NEW! Planned Parenthood Defrauded Washington State Taxpayers of $377 Million, Lawsuit Claims
NEW! Planned Parenthood Preys on College Students
NEW! Legislator Now Running Massachusetts Planned Parenthood Abortion League
Brochure Reveals the Truth About Planned Parenthood
Defunding Planned Parenthood Closes Four Sites in Wisconsin
Planned Parenthood Abortion Biz Closing Two More Facilities in Iowa…
New Mobile App Has Amazing Pictures of Unborn Babies, Helps Women / Conception to Birth by TheVisualMD.com for iPad
There is a mobile app on the Smartphone created by the people at WebMD, a website run by doctors that gives medical and health information. It is another example of how tech
nology is rendering standard pro-abortion arguments utterly obsolete.
The app is called “WebMD Pregnancy,” and it is described as “a free pregnancy app…that delivers trusted health information to expectant moms as well as fun features and tools. Whenever. Wherever. Online or offline.”
http://www.lifenews.com/2013/03/22/new-mobile-app-has-amazing-pictures-of-unborn-babies-helps-women/
A second technology breakthrough is a book available for download on your iPad with iBooks or on your computer with iTunes: Conception to Birth by TheVisualMD.com & Alexander Tsiaras.
"No relationship can be closer than that of a mother and her unborn child – yet the miraculous 9 months of growth inside the womb remain a mystery. Now, powerful medical visualizations illuminate this dark, hidden realm.
In vivid, stunning detail, Conception to Birth: The Visual Guide to Your Pregnancy iBook tracks the development of a baby from the moment of conception into the explosively complex early stages of development and through the amazing phases of growth, ending with the joy of birth.
Alexander Tsiaras has been a pioneer in developing technologies that allow you to view the most minute parts of the human embryo and fetus from any angle. The rich menu of visualizations includes images, videos, interactive anatomy maps, and interactive images that allow you to reveal successive layers of internal anatomy… Conception to Birth: The Visual Guide to Your Pregnancy provides a fascinating look at the miraculous process of becoming human.
Visit for more info and to order — https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/conception-to-birth/id556720361?ls=1
Commission on the Status of Women Concludes, Abortion Activists Fail
The two-week long exercise in futility known as the "United Nations’ 57th annual Commission on the Status of Women" (CSW) is over. The harangues, the excesses, and the disconnect between the needs of the third world versus the wants of the first world are now a not-too-distant memory.
http://www.lifenews.com/2013/03/20/commission-on-the-status-of-women-concludes-abortion-activists-fail/
Pro-Life Businessman Purchases Former Michigan Abortion Shop
Earlier in March 2013, late-term abortionist Reginald Sharpe was forced to close his Women’s Advisory Center abortion business in Livonia, Michigan, when the building went into foreclosure – this on the heels of Sharpe filing for bankruptcy last October.
If the walls of this 32-yr-old building could talk, their tales would certainly horrify most listeners, since the structure has suffered a sordid array of abortion owners.
The business was opened in 1981 by Eugene Ralph Marra, a convicted felon who, after serving time for committing abortions as a nonphysician, was again discovered during an undercover sting by the Detroit Free Press in 1974 to be posing as “Dr. Mike Morrison” at an abortion shop in Detroit. Marra hired Ebrahim Fayazi to kill babies, who after all these years still commits abortions in the Detroit area.
Marra’s wife Rosemary Lavelle got the building when the two divorced and rented the abortion business to Enrique Gerbi for years. I recently posted video from 1993 of Gerbi kicking a pro-lifer at the Livonia mill. Gerbi had at least 11 malpractice lawsuits filed against him.
In 2002 the building was sold to Adriana Holdings, wife of abortionist Rodolfo Finkelstein. Finkelstein fled the country to Argentina in 2005 after being convicted of criminal sexual assault of several abortion patients at the Livonia property, including at least one minor.
Sharpe took over the abortion business from Finkelstein in 2005, even as Sharpe saw his own medical license suspended for negligence of an abortion patient.
In 2006 Sharpe’s father, who died in 2010, bought the building via Sharksky, LLC for $365,000.
Sharpe has been sued at least three times for negligence, including by the family of a patient who died in 2008.
Which brings us to today and a series of amazing Godincidences that lead to a happy ending for this sad building.
On March 7 Lynn Mills happened by the clinic when a man was changing the locks, and he told her the name of the bank that had taken possession.
imageWhen Lynn passed by the building on March 11, she saw that the abortion clinic sign was down – for the first time in three decades. Lynn was so overcome she collapsed on the sidewalk in tears and thanks to God.
A man driving by stopped to make sure Lynn was ok, and when he learned the building would soon be for sale, he said he would be interested in purchasing it to keep it from becoming an abortion business again.
It turns out the man, Bill, with whom I spoke this afternoon, is a neighbor of the building, involved in commercial real estate, and strongly pro-life.
There was no “for sale” sign up yet, but Lynn, pictured left, knew the name of the bank and put the man and the bank in touch with one another.
The bank accepted Bill’s offer of $125,000 cash.
Bill told me a doctor friend involved in holistic medicine has already expressed interest in leasing the building. He has other leads if that doesn’t work.
But Bill assured me, “There will no longer be abortions there. Even if they offer me one million bucks a month, I will never, ever rent to an abortion clinic [sic].”
LifeNews.com Note: Jill Stanek fought to stop “live birth abortions” after witnessing one as an RN at Christ Hospital in Oak Lawn, Illinois. That led to the Born Alive Infants Protection Act legislation, signed by President Bush, that would ensure that proper medical care be given to unborn children who survive botched abortion attempts.
http://www.lifenews.com/2013/03/20/pro-life-businessman-purchases-former-michigan-abortion-clinic/
University Calls Pro-Life Display Too Controversial, Faces Lawsuit
Alliance Defending Freedom attorneys filed a federal lawsuit Tuesday against Eastern Michigan University on behalf of a pro-life student organization. University officials denied the group funding from mandatory student activity fees based on its “political or ideological” views even though the university funds other groups involved in political and ideological speech…
http://www.lifenews.com/2013/03/20/university-calls-pro-life-display-too-controversial-faces-lawsuit/
Support for Roe Inflated When Pew Asks False Polling Question
At first blush, the results of a recent Pew Research Center poll measuring attitudes towards Roe v. Wade and legal abortion appear discouraging for pro-life Americans. After all, Pew presented those results as “Roe v. Wade at 40: Most Oppose Overturning Abortion Decision.”
The math seems clear. Pew reported that while 29 percent of Americans would like to see Roe overturned, 63 percent say they would not like to see that change. However, a closer look at the questions, the results, and other relevant information presents a different picture entirely.
Question 53 of the poll asks: “In 1973 the Roe v. Wade decision established a woman’s constitutional right to an abortion, at least in the first three months of pregnancy. Would you like to see the Supreme Court completely overturn its Roe v. Wade decision, or not?” (emphasis added) This question is fundamentally flawed because it depicts the Roe decision as being much narrower than it is. In reality, through Roe a
nd its companion case Doe v. Bolton, the Court invented a right to abortion through all nine months of pregnancy. In so doing, the court invalidated laws restricting abortion in all 50 states.
Further, many of the individuals polled were surely unaware that the overturn of Roe would actually return the questions associated with the legalization/regulation of abortion primarily to state legislatures. Without an accurate explanation of the breadth of Roe and the implications of its reversal, the results of the poll cannot be given much weight.
The flaws in question 53 are illuminated when you contrast the question’s results with the results of another question in the poll…
[William Saunders and Mary Harned | Washington, DC | LifeNews.com | 3/20/13, http://www.lifenews.com/2013/03/20/support-for-roe-inflated-when-pew-asks-false-polling-question/ ]
The Day That Changed Carrie's Life
Isn't it amazing that in just 24 hours our lives can be changed forever?
A day was the difference between life and death for Carrie and her baby. Carrie was 18 years old and facing an unexpected pregnancy. She had already undergone an abortion several years before, and was constantly depressed because of this decision. She did not want to go through the mental and physical pain of abortion again. But, Carrie was receiving pressure and threats from her boyfriend, who demanded that she abort her baby. Carrie scheduled a chemical abortion.
In a moment of desperation, Carrie called Heartbeat International's Option Line — 800-712-HELP / www.optionline.org / Text "HELPLINE" to 313131
Julie, an Option Line consultant, was able to calm her over the phone and help her to gain a new perspective on her situation. Julie shared love, hope, and healing words with Carrie, and connected her with a local pregnancy help center where Carrie could find continued support.
Every day, 450 women just like Carrie contact Option Line. Since it began in 2003, Option Line has reached 1.6 million women and couples with the real-time, real-life help they need to choose life.
www.HeartbeatInternational.org
40 Days for Life Spring Campaign of 2013
It's official! The first 40 Days for Life campaign of 2013 will take place in 261 locations from coast to coast in the United States and Canada … plus cities in England, Australia, Poland and Spain — and for the first time ever in Nigeria, South Africa, Wales … and Russia!
9 People You Should Know About, Who Were Adopted
Adoption is all too rarely talked about as an option for pregnant women. Planned Parenthood and other such pro-abortion organizations seem to barely recognize its existence. And many people today have a rather ancient view of adoption.
Years ago, when adoption was chosen, a baby was often whisked away after birth – sometimes never even seen or held by his mother – and given to the adoptive family. The birth mother (and father) almost never had any contact, after birth, with the baby or the adoptive family. There was little way to know about anything going on in the child’s life. The most a birth mother could hope for was that, one day, her child would choose to open the records, find her name, and contact her after reaching adulthood. Many children chose never to do that.
Adoption today is different by light-years from all that. And we need to do a better job of informing women – and men – of all the options available in adoption. For those who desire no contact with their child or the adoptive family after birth, there are closed adoptions. The names of the birth parents can still be kept secret, but now it’s a choice, not what must be. Closed adoptions can be arranged so that the birth parents’ names are revealed when the child reaches the age of eighteen, or they can result in names that are never revealed. Almost anything is an option.
There are also open adoptions. This kind of adoption is tailor-made with a plan that fits both family’s needs. Birth parents can choose to have pictures and letters sent to them. They can even choose to be a part of their child’s life. There are so many options in open and partially open adoptions. Many women seem to be unaware that these options and choices even exist.
Another big concern with adoption is who the adoptive parents will be. Countless women do not want to place their children somewhere out there in the world and always wonder whom they ended up with and what the families are like. Today’s adoption world has fixed this dilemma. Birth parents can handpick just the right adoptive parents for their precious child. They can interview them, meet them in person, go through files and files of prospective parents, get their medical expenses paid for, and so much more.
Today, adoption is a beautiful, workable, and very accesible option. We need to do a better job of painting an accurate picture of adoption. Pro-lifers ought to research adoption and be aware of the facts so they are well-equipped to explain this life-giving choice. This adoption site offers a list of common questions about adoption and well-thought out answers.
We should also learn the stories of people who were adopted. Here are nine you should hear – each beautiful and unique in its own way:
1. Colin Kaepernick, NFL quarterback
While Colin Kapernick was already well-known and discussed in the sports world, he became even more famous as the 49ers quarterback in the Super Bowl this year. Though he didn’t manage to lead his team to victory, Kaepernick will undoubtedly be watched in the years to come, as his career has only begun. His boldness in displaying his favorite Scripture verses (Psalm 27:3, for one – “Though an army besiege me, my heart will not fear though war break out against me, even then I will be confident.”) is only one thing Kaepernick’s bold about.
He also has a voice for adoption. His single birth mother cared for him during the first five weeks of his life, until she was certain that she had found the perfect couple for her new son. She specifically chose them for several reasons, including their love of sports. On national television, Kaepernick proclaimed that being adopted was the “biggest blessing” of his “entire life.”
With someone so young and so bold in the limelight, it’s a good day to talk about adoption in America.
2. Michael Oher, NFL lineman and subject of the acclaimed movie The Blind Side
Along with many of his Baltimore Ravens teammates, Michael Oher won his first Super Bowl earlier this year. Known best from the portrayal of his life in The Blind Side, Michael Oher is a football star and an adoptee. His story is unusual, though, as he was adopted as a practically homeless teen. His adopted family, as well as Sandra Bullock and her adopted son, were at the game to cheer Oher on to victory. Oher’s adoptive mother, Leigh Anne Tuohy, put her heart into words:
‘Families don’t have to match,’ she said. ‘You don’t have to look like someone else to love them. There are wonderful kids all over this country who need a forever family. And we believe there are no unwanted kids, just unfound families.’
3. Steve Jobs, former CEO of Apple
Steve Jobs’s adoption seemed to become especially newsworthy as his death approached. Millions of Americans mourned the death of this creative innovator and powerful CEO. Yet Jobs would never have had his chance at revolutionizing technology had his birth mother
not given him the gift of life.
Jobs was born before abortion was legal throughout the nation, yet many women still sought out the procedure. Jobs’s mother chose differently and placed her baby boy with a family who would raise him and encourage his inventiveness. Steve Jobs’s adoption became a public blessing that the whole world witnessed.
4. Faith Hill, country music star
Faith Hill was adopted just days after her birth by a Mississippi couple with two biological sons. Her song “Mississippi Girl” pays tribute to a childhood she calls “amazing.” Despite having a great childhood, Hill hadn’t always been told the truth about her adoption, and as a young woman, she went on a journey to find her birth mother. Hill related her feelings:
‘I have a lot of respect for my birth mother and no feelings of anger or any of that,’ she has said. ‘I know she must have had a lot of love for me to want to give me what she felt was a better chance.’
5. Dave Thomas, founder of Wendy’s
Dave Thomas was adopted at birth and had already begun working in the restaurant business before he had finished high school. Adoption was such a blessing in Thomas’s life that he returned the favor, thousands of times over. The Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption and Wendy’s Wonderful Kids (which specifically serves kids currently in foster care) has helped over 3,400 children get adopted.
Recently released research from a five-year evaluation of Wendy’s Wonderful Kids shows that children referred to the program are up to three times more likely to get adopted.
Wendy’s also sponsors “A Home for the Holidays,” a CBS special that airs every year at Christmas and helps children get placed in adoptive families.
6. Jamie Foxx, Academy Award-winning actor
Foxx’s story differs from the others mentioned here because he was adopted by his grandparents after his parents divorced. Yet Foxx’s adoption was no less significant or eventful. He has been quite vocal about the life lessons his beloved grandmother (also his adoptive mother) taught him. Foxx has appeared on “A Home for the Holidays” and is outspoken about the need for adoption in the U.S.:
‘I could take you to some parts of the U.S. and you’d see kids and families in exactly the same bad situations (as in third-world regions) who need your help,’ he says. ‘We have to start at home. There are too many sick kids, orphaned kids, kids who have never gotten to open a Christmas present, right in our own backyard.’
7. John Hancock, signer of the Declaration of Independence, governor, and president of Congress
John Hancock, born more than two centuries before Jamie Foxx, was also adopted by a family member. After the death of Hancock’s father, his uncle chose to raise him as his own son and provided the young man with plentiful opportunities. Hancock clearly went on to lead a successful life of leadership, becoming one of the greatest political leaders and Founding Fathers of America.
8. Rodney Atkins, country music star
Rodney Atkins’s story truly deserves to be told. His birth mother became pregnant with him after “a traumatic first date,” but she still chose to give life to her son. Despite her personal circumstances, his mother focused on the new life within her and placed her baby in an orphanage. You can read Atkins’s full story here, in an article I wrote last year:
Indeed, Atkins has not been taking the gift he was given for granted. He has used his platform as a country musician to step into the role of a spokesman for the National Council for Adoption. He has chosen to speak out so that other children might be given the same chance he was given and so that other mothers might make the same sacrifice that his made. In the AP article, Atkins recognized his birth mother’s courage and said that he could never give back to her as much as she gave to him.
In addition, Atkins has used his music career to raise $5,000,000 for the children’s home he lived at before his adoption. His own website tells about his involvement in the lives of the home’s needy children.
9. McKenna, Snowflake baby
McKenna’s story is both beautiful and unique. This precious child is a “Snowflake baby.” Adopted as an embryo, McKenna was implanted into the womb of her adoptive mother and born nine months later. This month, she was featured on the cover of Adoption Today. Snowflake adoption is being brought to light these days, as more and more babies are being adopted from IVF clinics and born into new families. Nightlight Christian Adoptions is on the forefront of this modern adoption choice, and you can read more here.
[15 Feb 13, Kristi Burton Brown, LiveActionNews.org, http://www.lifesitenews.com/news/9-people-you-should-know-about-who-were-adopted?utm_source=LifeSiteNews.com+Daily+Newsletter&utm_campaign=bc7b5bf63f-LifeSiteNews_com_US_Headlines_02_15_2013&utm_medium=email]
Op-Ed: The Media’s Abortion Blinders
In the most recent Gallup poll on abortion, as many Americans described themselves as pro-life as called themselves pro-choice. A combined 58 percent of Americans stated that abortion should either be “illegal in all circumstances” or “legal in only a few circumstances.” These results do not vary appreciably by gender: in the first Gallup poll to show a slight pro-life majority, conducted in May 2009, half of American women described themselves as pro-life.
But if you’ve followed the media frenzy surrounding the Susan G. Komen for the Cure foundation’s decision — which it backpedaled from, with an apology, after a wave of frankly brutal coverage — to discontinue about $700,000 in funding for Planned Parenthood, you would think all these millions of anti-abortion Americans simply do not exist.
From the nightly news shows to print and online media, the coverage’s tone alternated between wonder and outrage — wonder that anyone could possibly find Planned Parenthood even remotely controversial and outrage that the Komen foundation had “politicized” the cause of women’s health.
“That ubiquitous pink ribbon … is sporting a black eye today,” Claire Shipman announced on ABC News Thursday, while Diane Sawyer nodded along. On MSNBC, Andrea Mitchell dressed down the Komen foundation’s founder, Nancy Brinker: “I have to tell you,” Mitchell said, “this is shocking to a lot of your longtime supporters. … How could this have taken place?” In story after story, journalists explicitly passed judgment on Komen for creating a controversy where none need ever have existed.
Conservative complaints about media bias are sometimes overdrawn. But on the abortion issue, the press’s prejudices are often absolute, its biases blatant and its blinders impenetrable. In many newsrooms and television studios across the country, Planned Parenthood is regarded as the equivalent of, well, the Komen foundation: an apolitical, high-minded and humanitarian institution whose work no rational person — and certainly no self-respecting woman — could possibly question or oppose.
But of course millions of Americans — including, yes, millions of American women — do oppose Planned Parenthood. They oppose the 300,000-plus abortions it performs every year (making it the largest abortion provider in the country), and they oppose its tireless opposition to
even modest limits on abortion.
It’s true that abortion is only one of the services Planned Parenthood provides. (Although mammograms, it should be noted, are not necessarily among them: the group usually provides referrals, but not the mammogram itself, which is one of the reasons Komen’s founder had cited for discontinuing the grant.) But abortion is hardly an itty-bitty and purely tangential aspect of its mission, as many credulous journalists have implied.
Planned Parenthood likes to claim that abortion accounts for just 3 percent of its services, for instance, and this statistic has been endlessly recycled in the press. But the percentage of the group’s clients who received an abortion is probably closer to 1 in 10, and Planned Parenthood’s critics have estimated, plausibly, that between 30 and 40 percent of its health center revenue is from abortion.
By way of comparison, the organization also refers pregnant women for adoption. In 2010, this happened 841 times, against 329,445 abortions.
For the minority of Americans who have no moral qualms about using surgery or chemicals to put an end to a growing embryo or fetus, there should be nothing troubling in these numbers. And if you think abortion rights are more important to female health and flourishing than the nearly $2 billion the pink ribbon has raised for breast cancer research, Komen deserved your scorn and Planned Parenthood deserves your donations.
Mayor Michael Bloomberg just pledged $250,000 to Planned Parenthood; that’s obviously his right. Before Komen backtracked, the Yale School of Public Health said its invitation to Brinker to speak at commencement was “under careful review”; that’s certainly any school’s prerogative.
But reporters have different obligations.
Even if some forms of partiality are inevitable, journalists betray their calling when they simply ignore self-evident truths about a story.
Three truths, in particular, should be obvious to everyone reporting on the Komen-Planned Parenthood controversy.
First, that the fight against breast cancer is unifying and completely uncontroversial, while the provision of abortion may be the most polarizing issue in the United States today.
Second, that it’s no more “political” to disassociate oneself from the nation’s largest abortion provider than it is to associate with it in the first place.
Third, that for every American who greeted Komen’s shift with “anger and outrage” (as Andrea Mitchell put it), there was probably an American who was relieved and gratified.
Indeed, that sense of relief was quantifiable: the day after the controversy broke, Komen reported that its daily donations had risen dramatically.
But of course, you wouldn’t know that from most of the media coverage.
After all, the people making those donations don’t exist.
[ROSS DOUTHAT, February 4, 2012, http://www.nytimes.com/2012/02/05/opinion/sunday/douthat-the-medias-blinders-on-abortion.html?_r=3&scp=2&sq=douthat&st=cse&]
QuickStats: Infant Mortality Rates,* by Race and Hispanic Ethnicity of Mother — United States, 2000, 2005, and 2009
During 2000–2005, the U.S. infant mortality rate did not decline significantly for the total population or for any racial/ethnic population. However, from 2005 to 2009, the rate declined by 7% to 6.39 infant deaths per 1,000 live births and declined significantly for all racial/ethnic groups except for American Indian/Alaska Native women. Infant mortality rates in 2009 were higher than the U.S. average (6.39) for non-Hispanic black (12.40) and American Indian/Alaska Native women (8.47). Rates were lower than the U.S. average for non-Hispanic white (5.33), Hispanic (5.29) and Asian or Pacific Islander women (4.40).
Alternate Text: The figure above shows infant mortality rates, by race and Hispanic ethnicity of mother, in the United States during 2000, 2005, and 2009. During 2000-2005, the U.S. infant mortality rate did not decline significantly for the total population or for any race or ethnic group. However, from 2005 to 2009, the rate declined by 7% to 6.39 infant deaths per 1,000 live births and declined significantly for all race and ethnic groups except for American Indian/Alaska Native women.
Infant mortality rates in 2009 were higher than the U.S. average (6.39) for non-Hispanic black (12.40), and American Indian/Alaska Native women (8.47). Rates were lower than the U.S. average for non-Hispanic white (5.33), Hispanic (5.29), and Asian or Pacific Islander women (4.40).
[Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR), Weekly February 8, 2013 / 62(05);90; http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm6205a6.htm?s_cid=mm6205a6_e ;
Source: Mathews TJ, MacDorman MF. Infant mortality statistics from the 2009 period linked birth/infant death data set. Natl Vital Sat Rep 2012;61(8).
Reported by: Marian F. MacDorman, PhD, [email protected], 301-458-4356; T.J. Mathews]
QuickStats: Percentage of Adults Aged ≥18 Years Who Often Felt Depressed,* by Sex and Age Group — National Health Interview Survey, United States, 2010–2011†
Visit http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm6207a7.htm?s_cid=mm6207a7_e for the chart.
* Respondents were asked: "How often do you feel depressed? Would you say daily, weekly, monthly, a few times a year, or never?" Persons having daily or weekly feelings of depression were categorized as often depressed. Unknowns were not included in the denominators when calculating percentages.
† Estimates are based on household interviews of a sample of the U.S. civilian, noninstitutionalized population.
§ 95% confidence interval.
During 2010–2011, women were more likely than men to often feel depressed (10.7% compared with 7.7%), overall and among those aged 18–44, 45–64, and 65–74 years. For both men (9.9%) and women (13.0%), the prevalence of depression was highest among those aged 45–64 years.
Source: National Health Interview Survey, 2010 Quality of Life and 2011 Functioning and Disability supplements. Data are from a subset of the adults randomly selected for the Sample Adult Component of the National Health Interview Survey questionnaire. Available at http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/nhis.htm.
[Reported by: Tainya C. Clarke, MS, MPH, [email protected], 301-458-4155; Debra Blackwell PhD.
CDC, MMWR Weekly, February 22, 2013 / 62(07);138, http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm6207a7.htm?s_cid=mm6207a7_e]
Invasive Cancer Incidence — United States, 2009
Cancer is a leading cause of illness and death in the United States, and many cancers are preventable (1)… [Ed. Over 70 peer-reviewed journal studies show a statistically significant connection between breast cancer and abortion, especially if a first pregnancy is being aborted. With over 1.1 Million abortions per year in the U.S., it is estimated that
In 2009, a total of 1,476,504 invasive cancers were diagnosed and reported to central cancer registries in the United States (excluding Wisconsin), including 757,545 among males and 718,959 among females (Table).
The age-adjusted annual incidence for all cancers was 459 per 100,000 population (524 per 100,000 in males and 414 per 100,000 in females). Among persons aged ≤19 years, 14,023 cancer cases were diagnosed in 2009 (Table).
By age group, rates per 100,000 population in 2009 were 16.9 among persons aged ≤19 years,
155.5 among those aged 20–49 years, 843.2 among those aged 50–64 years, 1,903.0 among those aged 65–74 years, and 2,223.0 among those aged ≥75 years (Table).
Cancer incidence rates were highest among blacks (473) and lowest among American Indian/Alaska Natives (273), and ranged by state from 387 to 509. Populations defined by state of residence, race, or ethnicity with high rates of cancer might benefit most from targeted cancer prevention and control efforts…
With the exclusion of data from Wisconsin, data in this report cover 98% of the U.S. population…
By cancer site, rates were highest for cancers of the prostate (137.7 per 100,000 men), female breast (123.1 per 100,000 women), lung and bronchus (64.3 overall, 78.2 among men and 54.1 among women), and colon and rectum (42.5 overall, 49.2 among men and 37.1 among women) (Table). These four sites accounted for half of cancers diagnosed in 2009, including 206,640 prostate cancers, 211,731 female breast cancers, 205,974 lung and bronchus cancers (110,190 among men and 95,784 among women), and 136,717 colon and rectum cancers (70,223 among men and 66,494 among women).
The top 10 cancer sites differed by sex and racial and ethnic group (Figure 1)…
Incidence of late-stage breast cancer was highest among black women (Figure 1).
References
Colditz GA, Wolin KY, Gehlert S. Applying what we know to accelerate cancer prevention. Sci Transl Med 2012;4:127rv4.
Weir HK, Thun MJ, Hankey BF, et al. Annual report to the nation on the status of cancer, 1975–2000, featuring the uses of surveillance data for cancer prevention and control. J Natl Cancer Inst 2003;95:1276–99.
US Department of Health and Human Services. Healthy people 2020. Washington, DC: US Department of Health and Human Services; 2011. Available at http://www.healthypeople.gov/2020/topicsobjectives2020/default.aspxExternal Web Site Icon.
US Cancer Statistics Working Group. United States cancer statistics: 1999–2009 incidence and mortality web-based report. Atlanta, GA: US Department of Health and Human Services, CDC and National Cancer Institute; 2013. Available at http://www.cdc.gov/uscs.
Fisher R, Haenlein M. Legislative authorizations for cancer registries. In: National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health. State cancer legislative database update. Bethesda, MD: US Department of Health and Human Services, Public Health Service, National Institutes of Health. National Cancer Institute; 1991:8–15.
CDC. State cancer registries: status of authorizing legislation and enabling regulations—United States, October 1993. MMWR 1994;43:71–5.
Ingram DD, Parker JD, Schenker N, et al. United States Census 2000 population with bridged race categories. Vital Health Stat 2003;2(135).
Clegg LX, Feuer EJ, Midthune DN, et al. Impact of reporting delay and reporting error on cancer incidence rates and trends. J Natl Cancer Inst 2002;94:1537–45.
[CDC, MMWR Weekly, February 22, 2013 / 62(07);113-118 http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm6207a1.htm?s_cid=mm6207a1_e ]
Obama Tells NARAL: We Celebrate Roe, 55 Million Abortions
In a videotaped address to the NARAL pro-abortion group last night, President Barack Obama told the organization that he celebrates the Roe v. Wade decision, that has resulted in well over 55 million abortions.
“Tonight we celebrate the historic Roe v. Wade decision handed down 40 years ago, but we also gather to recommit ourselves to the decision’s guiding principle: that women should be able to make their own choices about their bodies and their health care,” Obama said in the videotaped message.
Outgoing NARAL president "Keenan and Obama have been buddy buddy since his election in November 2008 and Obama invited Keenan for one of the Christmas parties it hosted on December 14. The logs show Keenan and the president of Planned Parenthood getting big access."
[http://www.lifenews.com/2013/02/06/obama-tells-group-we-celebrate-roe-55-million-abortions/]
NYC Schools Give 12,000 Plan B Drugs to Kids WITHOUT Parents OK
New York City schools have given out more than 12,000 of the Plan B morning after pill drug to students without parental permission, according to a new report from the New York Post.
The newspaper indicates the administration of Mayor Michael Bloomberg is pushing the drug hard, according to records obtained by The Post. As the newspaper reports:
Last September, the city revealed it had started giving out Plan B and other birth control in the nurses’ offices of 13 high schools. At the time, officials said 567 girls had gotten Plan B.
But the birth-control blitz was much bigger than the city had acknowledged. About 40 separate “school-based health centers” doled out 12,721 doses of Plan B in 2011-12, up from 10,720 in 2010-11 and 5,039 in 2009-10, according to the newly released data.
About 22,400 students sought reproductive care from January 2009 through last school year, records show. Under state law, minors don’t need parental OKs to get contraceptives.
The revelations stunned Mona Davids, president of the NYC Parents Union, whose 14-year-old attends a Manhattan high school.
“I’m in shock,” she said. “What gives the mayor the right to decide, without adequate notice, to give our children drugs that will impact their bodies and their psyches? He has purposely kept the public and parents in the dark with his agenda.”
Davids, who is black, noted that most school-based health centers are in poor neighborhoods.
“This was population control on blacks and Latinos without our knowledge,” she said.
Last September, LifeNews reported that a poll found 53 percent of New York City parents oppose the controversial new CATCH programrecently instated in 13 NYC public schools. CATCH, which stands for Connecting Adolescents to Comprehensive Healthcare, is a pilot program established by the city’s Department of Education (DOE) and aimed at curtailing teen pregnancy by making emergency contraceptives, such as Plan B, available to students without parental consent. Public schools already have free condoms available to students.
“High school students are very sexually active and getting pregnant so we don’t have that luxury to think that they are too young to be engaged in conversations about contraception and sexual education,” City Council Speaker Christine Quinn has stated.
However, the poll, commissioned by the Chiaroscuro Foundation and conducted by Smith Johnson Research, has found that a majority of NYC parents are not on board with the new measure. “This kind of social experiment has no place in the education of our children,” said State Senator Ruben Diaz, Sr. “NYC parents agree that the DOE is out of bounds on this issue.”
The Chiaroscuro Foundation has released the entire poll, including the cross-tabs for the sample of 600 New Yorkers surveyed and the cross-tabs for the oversampled under-55 demographic, which totaled 400 of the 600 people polled. Greg Pfundstein, executive director of the foundation, states, “There should be no question about the soundness of the methodology.”
Support for abstinence education programs with focus on teaching healthy relationship skills was especially high. Seventy-five percent of all respondents expressed support for
such a program and 83 percent of African American respondents said they would support that potential program. Additionally, 71 percent of all respondents and 73 percent of African Americans respondents expressed support for an abstinence program that teaches the facts about contraception while promoting delaying sex as the best choice for teenagers.
News about the program giving out morning after pills to girls as young as 12 came to the surface last September.
[Ertelt | New York, NY | LifeNews.com | 2/4/13, http://www.lifenews.com/2013/02/04/nyc-schools-give-12000-plan-b-drugs-to-kids-without-parents-ok/]
Black Pro-Lifer Files Lawsuit Against NAACP
The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People threatened with legal action Ryan Bomberger for using its name and trademark to oppose abortion. Now the chief creative officer of The Radiance Foundation is fighting back.
Bomberger said he received a letter from NAACP attorney Ned T. Himmelrich accusing him of “trademark infringement” for mentioning the NAACP in his artwork and his website.
The artist and musician, who is black, often refers to the organization as the “National Association for the Abortion of Colored People,” a designation that singularly displeased its liberal leadership.
“It is ironic that a black man is being sued by the nation’s oldest civil rights group for exercising his most basic civil right—the freedom of speech,” said Bomberger.
“This threat of legal action from the NAACP is nothing more than a multi-million dollar organization’s attempt to bully someone who’s simply telling the truth.”
With the help of attorney Charles M. Allen, who is affiliated with the Alliance Defending Freedom, Bomberger filed a lawsuit in Virginia on Friday arguing that his work is protected by the First Amendment and “fair use” provisions of the law.
He also questioned the NAACP's priorities in using its legal resources to fight an activist trying to save black babies, rather than fighting the community's pathologies.
“Our inner-cities are crumbling, two-parent married families barely exist, 72.3 percent of our children are born into homes without fathers, and the NAACP wants to silence me for pointing out its support of abortion,” he said.
The lawsuit is the not the first time Bomberger – whose testimony as a child conceived by rape keynoted the 2013 March for Life – locked horns with the political pressure group.
Last summer he erected signs saying unborn children are “black and beautiful” and likening abortion to slavery.
“Slavery was about not having the right to make any decisions,” objected NAACP official Hilary Shelton. “This is so far removed from that, that if it weren’t such a serious issue, it would almost be laughable.”
In 2004, the organization passed a resolution supporting abortion-on-demand. Then-Chairman Julian Bond said the group was “pleased to join those insisting on a woman’s right to control her own body.”
It has consistently rejected pro-life resolutions.
In 2010, the Georgia NAACP opposed a state bill to criminalize abortions committed because of the unborn child's race, the polar opposite of the region's onetime eugenics policies.
Yet there is no doubt blacks account for a disproportionate number of abortions – a fact conceded by all.
The NAACP's role in promoting Planned Parenthood – and coveting its support – has rubbed pro-life African-Americans the wrong way for years.
“We, as black Americans, have endured and achieved, to have the NAACP support abortion-on-demand, which has destroyed over 400,000 Black babies this year alone, is incomprehensible,” Day Gardner told LifeSiteNews.com several years ago.
[Ben Johnson, Feb 06, 2013, D.C., http://www.lifesitenews.com/news/breaking-black-pro-lifer-files-lawsuit-against-naacp?utm_source=LifeSiteNews.com+Daily+Newsletter&utm_campaign=b85f6e8d10-LifeSiteNews_com_US_Headlines_02_06_2013&utm_medium=email]
78% of Pregnant Women Who See Ultrasound of Unborn Child Reject Abortions
Ultrasounds before abortions are routine in some abortion businesses. In others, they are performed only under certain circumstances.
Former Planned Parenthood worker Catherine Anthony Adair said the following in an interview:
At the time I worked for Planned Parenthood ultrasounds were only done if the woman was unsure of the dates of her last menstrual period, or if the doctor ordered one. Women were not given the option of viewing the ultrasound. http://www.lifenews.com/2013/02/07/78-of-pregnant-women-seeing-an-ultrasound-reject-abortions/
Parental Consent Laws Cut Teen Abortions by 18.7 Percent
For states considering how to best protect minors from the harms of abortion, the answer is enacting parental involvement statutes—those laws that require either parental consent or parental notice before a minor can have an abortion. http://www.lifenews.com/2013/02/08/parental-consent-laws-cut-teen-abortions-by-18-7-percent/
Americans United For Life Releases New Guidebook “Confronting Big Abortion in the 40th Year of Roe”
Americans United for Life (AUL) on Thursday released a preview edition of their well-known guidebook of model legislation, Defending Life, as part of a special package: “Confronting Big Abortion in the 40th Year of Roe.”
AUL President and CEO Dr. Charmaine Yoest said that the seven model bills included in the book will give lawmakers “the tools to protect women, girls and the unborn from an unregulated, unsupervised, and profit-hungry industry that consumes almost $1.5 million a day in taxpayer subsidies, diverted from hard-working American families.”
The seven pieces of model legislation crafted by AUL attorneys and included in Thursday’s preview are:
-The Women’s Health Protection Act, which prohibits late-term abortions based on their negative impact on women.
-The Abortion Patients’ Enhanced Safety Act, mandating that abortion clinics – currently largely unregulated – meet medically appropriate standards of patient care and submit to regular inspections by state health officials.
-The Abortion-Inducing Drugs Safety Act, prohibiting “telemed” abortionists from prescribing dangerous abortion drugs via Skype and other video conferencing services.
-The Women’s Ultrasound Right to Know Act, requiring that women considering abortion receive complete and accurate information about the development of their unborn children, including ultrasound imagery.
-The Parental Involvement Enhancement Act, designed to beef up existing parental involvement laws by adding notarization requirements, requirements for identification and proof of relationship, more stringent standards for judicial bypass proceedings, and mandates that abortion providers fully disclose and discuss abortion’s risks and alternatives with both the minor and her parents or guardians.
-The Abortion-Mandate Opt-Out Act, enabling states to opt-out of providing insurance coverage for abortions in the state health Exchanges required by Obamacare.
-The Healthcare Freedom of Conscience Act, which protects healthcare providers from having to prescribe medications or perform procedures that violate their consciences or religious beliefs.
“Ou
r model legislation is specifically tailored to confront the current trends in Big Abortion’s overreach,” said Dr. Yoest. “These strategic measures protect women and girls from the harms inherent in abortion and from the increasingly predatory practices of the scandal-ridden abortion industry, empower families and individual Americans with information and life-affirming options, and ensure that pro-life Americans can exercise their conscience in opposition to the goals and agenda of Big Abortion.”
Dr. Yoest noted that in the last two years, AUL has helped enact nearly 50 new pro-life laws in the United States, which is about a third of all pro-life legislation passed during that period. She said the group had 2,500 requests for model legislation in that same time frame, and that their legal team assisted pro-life legislative efforts in 39 states.
“We are confident that we have forward momentum carrying us into the 2013 state legislative sessions,” said Yoest. “[W]e have a tremendous tidal wave of life-affirming legislation in the pipeline for 2013.”
Dan McConchie, AUL’s Vice President of Government Affairs, reports that the group is already working with pro-life state lawmakers in Alabama, Arkansas, Colorado, Florida, Indiana, Maine, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, New Hampshire, North Carolina, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Texas, and West Virginia on this year’s crop of pro-life legislation.
[Kirsten Andersen, D.C., February 8, 2013]
Reproductive Justice? Not for Men Hurt By Abortion
In recent years, there’s been a lot of buzz about “reproductive justice” in the media and in political discourse. For those not familiar with the phrase, here is a definition from Spark, a self-described “reproductive justice organization:”
“SPARK defines Reproductive Justice as a social justice movement rooted in the belief that individuals and communities should have the resources and power to make sustainable and liberatory decisions about their bodies, genders, sexualities, and lives. http://www.lifenews.com/2013/02/03/reproductive-justice-not-for-men-hurt-by-abortion/
Roe’s Multiplier Effect: Generations Dead From Abortion
This year’s marking of the 40th anniversary Roe v. Wade included, naturally, much regret over the growing death toll caused by the scourge of abortion. The number is now over 55 million. That’s 55 million abortions of children who never became Americans.
That number, however, doesn’t begin to do justice to the total loss. 40 years of Roe v. Wade now equates to the loss of multiple generations of Americans, thus producing an even worse multiplier effect, one that must be considered in counting up the casualties. http://www.lifenews.com/2013/02/03/roes-multiplier-effect-generations-dead-from-abortion/
New Invention Could Help Reduce Sudden Infant Death Syndrome
Sudden infant death syndrome, also known as crib death, is responsible for the deaths of 7000 infants a year. Now a new invention has been made that might drastically reduce this number.
http://www.lifenews.com/2013/02/03/new-invention-could-help-reduce-sudden-infant-death-syndrome/
A Pro-Life Pioneer: Looking at Monica Miller’s Book Abandoned
Even though the pro-life movement is very rich and diverse, there is relatively little variety in the type of pro-life books published.
http://www.lifenews.com/2013/02/03/a-pro-life-pioneer-looking-at-monica-millers-book-abandoned/
Funeral Procession Held for Aborted Babies in South Africa
On 1 February 1997 abortion-on-demand was legalized in South Africa. By 1 February 2013 an estimated 1 100 000 South African babies have lost their lives through abortion – legally – with tax payers money.
http://www.lifenews.com/2013/02/04/funeral-procession-held-for-aborted-babies-in-south-africa/
Beloved Pro-Life Leader Dies, Modeled Mercy and Justice
Senator Tom Coburn’s tearful tribute of Michael Schwartz on the Senate floor in December threw a spotlight on a humble yet fierce advocate for the weak. A pro-life advocate since before Roe v. Wade, Michael devoted his life, intellect and influence to his driving passion: defending the unborn and defenseless.
For many, Michael was not Senator Coburn’s chief of staff, but a friend and model of what it means to love justice and mercy.
Through “the kindness he has shown to everyone he's encountered, whether to a homeless person on the street or a leading senator in the halls,” Michael reminded Coburn, “that we are all equal, regardless of position, in the eyes of God.”
This past weekend, Michael succumbed after a nearly two year battle to Lou Gehrig’s disease.
The grandson of an Irish prizefighter, Michael was born in Pennsylvania’s coal mining country. “My father was a drunken, adulterous, wife-beater. He became for me the permanent image of what I did not want to be.” He never pulled verbal punches when a colorful description would make the abstract real, calling the infamous Supreme Court decision Roe vs Wade “Hate Crimes Against the Human Race.”
In 1969, anti-war protests inspired him to start a pro-life student movement named the “Sons of Thunder” after apostles John and James. Their first action was a “prayerful occupation” of Planned Parenthood in Dallas, which was flying girls out of state for abortions.
A living encyclopedia and voracious reader, Michael recounted how prior to Roe, states that legalized abortion believed it would be rare and safe. Instead, they became “abortion havens.”
Three days after Roe came down, Michael helped form the group that organized the March for Life. He actively volunteered in all levels of pro-life work, with a special interest in pregnancy help-lines assisting women.
He soon became a strategist in the conservative movement, coordinating pro-family policies, devising legislation, helping found groups, hosting TV programs, training international pro-life leaders and serving Coburn in both the House and Senate. No one questioned his stint leading Concerned Women for America’s policy department – his renowned passion for protecting life and family made this man the best choice for a pro-woman organization.
He earned the admiration of bishops, but risked that to confront sexual abuse within his beloved Catholic church. After trying to get church leaders to deal with the molestation of boys by priests and subsequent cover-up, in 1989 he brought three people to tell their story of abuse to the media.
As the press conference began, Michael, trembling, whispered, “Lord, we are afraid. We ask for courage to do what is needed and face consequences we will have to suffer.” His early work led to reform.
In 2005, the Washington Post identified Michael as an influential figure able to leverage his extensive network to impact the Republican agenda. Unmentioned is how he – a Democrat – gained this loyal network through offering friendship and ideas to anyone who asked.
But he recognized the limits of the law. In one of his final speeches, he stated, “The primary objective of our legislative efforts should be to move public opinion in a pro-life direction by raising issues” that set “the well-being of women against the profits of abortionists . . . That w
ay, even if these initiatives are not passed into law, they move people out of the conflicted camp and into the pro-life camp. And when they are passed, they will financially weaken the abortion industry and cause more abortion vendors to close.”
The chief strategy to end abortion, he advised, is prayer – for mothers in danger of abortion, and for the conversion of abortionists.
The best part of the movement, he believed, is pregnancy centers: “Perhaps the reason why God allowed the evil of abortion to fall upon us was to awaken us to the need” to help women with untimely pregnancies.
Michael met his wife Rose Ann in college. They have three sons, a daughter and a growing number of grandchildren. His legacy will live on through them and the many who never knew him, touched by the ripple of his love and good deeds.
[[Feb 07, 2013, Wendy Wright, DC, February 8, https://www.c-fam.org/fridayfax/volume-15/beloved-pro-life-leader-dies,-modeled-mercy-and-justice.html]
Why My Support for Abortion Was Based on Love…And Lies
When I was younger, I was always particularly shocked when I heard about societies where it was common to abandon or kill unwanted newborns. In college I once read a particularly graphic description of a family in ancient Greece "discarding" a newborn baby girl. I was shocked to the point of breathlessness. I was also horribly confused: How could normal people be okay with this, let alone participate in it? Nobody I knew would do that! Were people that different back then?!
Because of my deep distress at hearing of things like this, I found it really irritating when pro-lifers would refer to abortion as "killing babies." Obviously, none of us pro-choice folks were in favor of killing babies; to imply otherwise, in my mind, was an insult to the babies throughout history who actually were killed by their insane societies. We weren't in favor of killing anyone. We simply felt like women had the right to stop the growth process of a fetus if she faced an unwanted pregnancy. Sure, it was unfortunate since fetuses had potential to be babies one day, and we recognized that there was something special about that. But, alas, that was a sacrifice that had to be made in the name of not making women slaves to their bodies.
I continued to be vehemently pro-choice after college. Though my views became more moderate once I had a child of my own, I was still pro-choice. But as my husband and I began a religious search that led us to Christianity, we were increasingly put on the defensive about our views. One day my husband was re-evaluating his own pro-choice ideas, and he made a passing remark that startled me. He said:
"It just occurred to me that being pro-life is being pro-other-people's-lives. Everyone is pro-their-own-life."
It made me realize that my pro-choice viewpoints were putting me in the position of deciding who is and is not human, and whose lives are worth living. I (along with doctors, the government, or other abortion advocates) decided where to draw this very important line. When I would come across claims that life begins at conception, I would scoff. Yet I found myself increasingly uncomfortable with my defense:
"A few cells is obviously not a baby, or even a human life!" I would sneer to myself. "Fetuses eventually become full-fledged humans, but not until, umm, like, six months gestation or something. Or maybe five months? When is it that they can kick their legs and stuff?…Nine weeks?! No, they’re not human then, those must be involuntary spasms…"
I was putting the burden of proof on the fetuses to demonstrate to me that they were human, and I was a tough judge. I found myself looking the other way when I heard that 3D ultrasounds showed "fetuses" touching their faces, smiling and opening their eyes at ages at which I still considered abortion okay. Babies — I mean, fetuses — seen yawning at 12 weeks gestation? Involuntary spasm. As modern technology helped fetuses offer me more and more evidence that they were human too, I would simply move the bar of what I considered human.
I realized that my definition of how and when a "fetus" became a "person," when he or she begins to have rights, also depended on his or her level of health: The length of time in which I considered it okay to terminate a pregnancy lengthened as the severity of disability increased ("I wouldn't be comfortable with abortion after 26 weeks, unless the fetus had a disability," I once said). It was with a sickening feeling in my stomach that I realized that, under the premise of wanting to spare the potential child from suffering, I was basically saying that disabled babies had fewer rights — were less human — than able-bodied ones.
At some point I started to feel like I was more determined to be pro-choice than I was to honestly analyze who was and was not human. And I saw it in others in the pro-choice community as well. On more than one occasion I was stunned to the point of feeling physically ill upon reading of what otherwise nice, reasonable people in the pro-abortion camp would support.
In reading through the Supreme Court case of Stenberg v. Carhart, I read that Dr. Leroy Carhart, an abortion advocate who actually performs the procedures, described some second-trimester abortions by saying, "[W]hen you pull out a piece of the fetus, let's say, an arm or a leg and remove that, at the time just prior to removal of the portion of the fetus…the fetus [is] alive." He said that he has observed fetal heartbeat via ultrasound with "extensive parts of the fetus removed."
The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, which presumably consists of well-educated, reasonable, intelligent men and women, spoke out against this procedure. When I discovered their reasoning, I felt dizzy. They didn't oppose it because it's clearly infanticide in its most grisly form; they opposed it because of the inconvenience of dismembered body parts. In their amici brief to Stenberg, the ACOG explained in detail why they believe it's better to kill these babies outside the womb, in a procedure they refer to as "D&X":
D&X presents a variety of potential safety advantages over other abortion procedures used during the same gestational period. Compared to D&E's involving dismemberment, D&X involves less risk of uterine perforation or cervical laceration because it requires the physician to make fewer passes into the uterus with sharp instruments and reduces the presence of sharp fetal bone fragments that can injure the uterus and cervix.
There is also considerable evidence that D&X reduces the risk of retained fetal tissue, a serious abortion complication that can cause maternal death, and that D&X reduces the incidence of a 'free floating' fetal head that can be difficult for a physician to grasp and remove and can thus cause maternal injury.
I read the Court documents from Stenberg in a state of shock. A few years before, a friend of mine had her baby prematurely, and I had visited him in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit. He was so beautiful, just like the full-term newborns I’d seen, only smaller. Seeing him and the other babies lying there so peacefully in their incubators, I was overwhelmed with feelings of wanting to protect these precious, innocent little babies. So I found myself in a state of cold shock that I was reading of people — not just fringe crazies, but the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists and some Supreme Court Justices — casually speaking about the inconvenience of the severed heads and bone fragments of dismembered children ("fetuses") the same age as those b
abies in the NICU…
[For remainder of article — http://www.lifesitenews.com/news/why-my-support-for-abortion-was-based-on-loveand-lies]
All of these thoughts had been percolating in my brain for a while, and I found myself increasingly in agreement with pro-life positions. Then one night I was reading something, and a certain thought occurred to me. From that moment on I was officially, unapologetically pro-life.
I was reading yet another account of the Greek societies in which newborn babies were abandoned to die, wondering to myself how normal people could possibly accept something like that. Then, a chill tore through my body as I thought:
I know how they did it.
I realized in that moment that perfectly good, well-meaning people — people like me — can support gravely evil things through the power of lies. From my own experience, I knew how the Greeks, the Romans, and people in every other society could put themselves into a mental state that they could leave a newborn child to die: The very real pressures of life — "we can’t afford another baby," "there's no dowry for another girl," "this disability would overwhelm us" — left them susceptible to that oldest of temptations: To dehumanize other human beings. Though the circumstances were different, it was the same process that had happened with me, with the concurring Supreme Court Justices in Stenberg v. Carhart, the abortion doctors, the entire pro-choice movement, and anyone else who's ever been tempted to dehumanize inconvenient people.
I imagine that as those Greek parents handed over their infants for someone to take away, they remarked on how very unlike their other children these little creatures were: They can't talk, they can't sit up. Surely those little yawns and smiles are just involuntary spasms. I bet you anything they justified their choices by referring to these babies with words that stripped them of their human dignity. Maybe they called them something like "fetuses," and walked away confident that the lives that had been taken were not really human at all.
[24 Jan 13, Jennifer Fulwiler, http://www.lifesitenews.com/news/why-my-support-for-abortion-was-based-on-loveand-lies]
Legislator's Sunset Memorial Speech
Congressman Trent Franks (AZ-08) today delivered a Sunset Memorial speech in honor of the 55 million unborn babies who have been killed since Roe v. Wade legalized abortion-on-demand 40 years ago yesterday. A full transcript of the speech is included below. We urge you: Read It.
Trent Franks' speech is exceptional. Wilberforce-esque. Some of the most eloquent and powerful words are those he quotes directly from a recent speech by President Obama on our duty to protect our children.
A question came to me: Will the Creator of these slain unborn forget these eloquent words (by either man)? An answer came from Scripture: "But I tell you, men will have to give account on the day of judgment for every careless word they have spoken. For by your words you will be acquitted, and by your words you will be condemned." (Matt 12:36,37) jdc/aaplog
The Transcript:
Mr. Speaker, I know that another legislative day has come to an end and that sunset approaches fast in Washington. And I stand before this House with what I call a Sunset Memorial.
Because, you see, before the sun sets today in America, almost 4,000 more defenseless unborn children will be killed by abortion on demand in the land of the free and the home of the brave. That is more than the number of innocent lives lost on September 11th in this country, and it happens every day.
It has now been 40 years since the tragedy called Roe v. Wade was first handed down. Since then, the very foundation of this nation has been stained by the blood of almost 55 million of its own unborn children. Some of them, Mr. Speaker, cried and screamed as they died. But because it was amniotic fluid going over the vocal cords instead of air, we couldn't hear them.
All of them had at least four things in common, Mr. Speaker:
First, they were just little babies who had done nothing wrong to anyone. And each one of them died a nameless and lonely death.
And each one of their mothers, whether she realizes it or not, will never be quite the same.
And all the gifts that these children might have brought to humanity are now lost forever, Mr. Speaker.
Yet, even in the glare of such tragedy, this generation still clings to a blind invincible ignorance while history repeats itself over and over again and our own silent genocide mercilessly annihilates the most helpless of all victims, those yet unborn.
I recently heard Barack Obama speak such poignant words that, whether he knows it or not, apply so profoundly to the tragedy of abortion on demand in America. Let me quote excerpted portions of his comments:
He said, "This is our first task — caring for our children. It's our first job. If we don't get that right, we don't get anything right. That's how, as a society, we will be judged."
"And by that measure, can we truly say, as a nation, that we are meeting our obligations? Can we honestly say that we're doing enough to keep our children — all of them — safe from harm? Can we say that we're truly doing enough to give all the children of this country the chance they deserve to live out their lives in happiness and with purpose?"
"I've been reflecting on this the last few days, and if we're honest with ourselves, the answer is no. We're not doing enough. And we will have to change."
Oh how true are the president's words are Mr. Speaker….
The president also said, "We can't tolerate this anymore. These tragedies must end. And to end them, we must change…"
And then the president asked, "Are we really prepared to say that we're powerless in the face of such carnage, that the politics are too hard? Are we prepared to say that such violence visited on our children year after year after year is somehow the price of our freedom?"
Mr. Speaker, is this not the most relevant question we should all be asking in the midst of this genocidal murder of thousands of unborn babies in America every day?
The president has said "Our journey is not complete until all our children…" are "cared for and cherished and always safe from harm."
"That is our generation's task — to make these words, these rights, these values of life and liberty and the pursuit of happiness real for every American."
Mr. Speaker, never have I so deeply agreed with any words ever spoken by Pres. Obama as those I have just quoted. And yet this president in the most merciless distortion of logic and reason and humanity itself refuses to apply these majestic words to helpless unborn babies. How I wish that somehow Mr. Obama would open his heart and his ears to his own words, and ask himself in the core of his soul, why his words, that should apply to ALL children, cannot include the most helpless and vulnerable of all children?
Only a few days ago, no more than 200 yards from this well, Barack Obama put his hand down on the same Bible that Abraham Lincoln was sworn in and took his Presidential oath.
Mr. Speaker, we should remember that we honor Abraham Lincoln most because he found the courage as President of the United States in the days of slavery, and the humanity within himself, to recognize the Image of God stamped on the soul of slaves that the Supreme Court said were not human, and that the tide of public opinion didn't recognize as protectable under the law. Could it still be that
Pres. Barack Obama might consider that perspective, as well as his own legacy, and even eternity itself, and recognize that these little unborn children look so desperately to him now for help?
Could it be that the President might finally remember that on the pages of the Bible on which he laid his hand were the words written in red, "inasmuch as you have done unto the least of these My brethren, you have done it unto Me".
Whether he does or does not, it is time for those of us in this chamber to remind ourselves of why we are really all here. Thomas Jefferson said, “The care of human life and its happiness, and not its destruction, is the chief and only object of good government.'' The phrase in the 14th Amendment capsulizes our entire Constitution. It says, “No state shall deprive any person of life, liberty, or property without due process of law.''
Mr. Speaker, protecting the lives of all Americans and their Constitutional rights is why we are all here. The bedrock foundation of this republic is that clarion declaration of the self-evident truth that all human beings are created equal and endowed by their creator with unalienable rights, the rights of life and liberty and the pursuit of happiness.
Every conflict and battle our Nation has ever faced can be traced to our commitment to this core self-evident truth. It has made us the beacon of hope for the entire world, Mr. Speaker. It is who we are. And yet today, another day has passed, and we in this body have failed again to honor that foundational commitment. We have failed our sworn oath and our God given responsibility as we broke faith with nearly 4,000 more innocent American babies who died today without the protection we should have given them.
So, Mr. Speaker, let me conclude this sunset memorial, in the hopes that perhaps someone new who heard it tonight will finally embrace the truth that abortion really does kill little babies; that it hurts mothers in ways that we can never express; and that it is time we stood up together again and looked to the Declaration of Independence; and, that we remember that we are the same America that rejected human slavery, and marched into Europe to arrest the Nazi Holocaust; and, we are still the courageous and compassionate Nation that can find a better way for mothers and their unborn babies than abortion on demand.
It is still not too late for us to make a better world and for America to be the one that leads the rest of the planet, just as we did in the days of slavery, from this tragic genocide of murdering nearly 4,000 of our own children every day.
So now, Mr. Speaker, as we consider the plight of the unborn after 40 years under Roe v. Wade, maybe we can each remind ourselves that our own days in this sunshine of life are all numbered and that all too soon each one of us will also walk from these Chambers for the very last time. And if it should be that this Congress is allowed to convene on yet another day, may that day be the day when we will finally hear the cries of innocent unborn children. May that be the day when we find the humanity, the courage and the will to embrace together our human and our constitutional duty to protect these, the least of our tiny little American brothers and sisters, from this murderous scourge upon our Nation called “abortion on demand.''
Mr. Speaker is now 40 years to the day since Roe v. Wade first stained the foundation of this Nation with the blood of its own children. This, in the land of the free and the home of the brave.
[AAPLOG, 24 Jan 2013, WASHINGTON, D.C.]
Roe v. Wade Attorney Betrayed and Underestimated Women
Forty years after Roe attorney Sarah Weddington capitulated to inherently unfair practices against pregnant and parenting women, FFL President Serrin M. Foster reflects on the enormous price paid by women. Please share her opinion piece which was published today in the Washington Examiner [http://washingtonexaminer.com/article/2519612#.UQKudPLFwtp]:
Weddington's Betrayal of Women
On the fortieth anniversary of the Roe v. Wade decision legalizing abortion, many will focus on the undeniable humanity of the unborn child now seen clearly by millions through sophisticated sonograms shared by proud parents eagerly awaiting the birth of their children.
It is also a good time to evaluate the impact of the choice made by attorney Sarah Weddington in 1973 on women.
As her arguments for abortion before the Supreme Court made clear, Weddington saw the discrimination and other injustices faced by pregnant women. But she did not demand that these injustices be remedied. Instead, she demanded for women the "right" to submit to these injustices by destroying their pregnancies. Weddington rightly pointed out the unmet needs of students: "…there are many schools where a woman is forced to quit if she becomes pregnant." But Weddington didn’t argue against pregnancy discrimination or even for alternate solutions for a pregnant student.
Weddington did no better for women in the workplace. "In the matter of employment, she often is forced to quit at an early point in her pregnancy. She has no provision for maternity leave… She cannot get unemployment compensation under our laws, because the laws hold that she is not eligible for employment, being pregnant, and therefore is eligible for no unemployment compensation."
For women with serious medical needs, she further noted: "There is no duty for employers to rehire women if they must drop out to carry a pregnancy to term. And, of course, this is especially hard on the many women in Texas who are heads of their own households and must provide for their already existing children."
Weddington clearly saw the bind low-income women face when experiencing unplanned pregnancy: "At the same time, she can get no welfare to help her at a time when she has no unemployment compensation and she's not eligible for any help in getting a job to provide for herself."
Weddington repeatedly said that women need "relief" from pregnancy, instead of arguing that women need relief from these injustices.
What if Weddington had used her legal acumen to challenge the system and address women’s needs?
By accepting pregnancy discrimination in school and workplace and the lack of support in society for pregnant women and parents, especially the poor, Weddington and the Supreme Court betrayed women and undermined the support women need and deserve.
Since then, millions of women have paid the price, struggling in school and the workplace without societal support. After all, when "it’s her body, it’s her choice," it’s her problem.
Here’s the disturbing report card. According to the Guttmacher Institute, the former research arm of Planned Parenthood, the largest provider of abortion in America:
~ 75% say that having a baby would interfere with work, school or the ability to care for dependents,
~ 75% say they can’t afford a child,
~ 69% are economically disadvantaged,
~ 61% already have at least one child,
~ and 44% of all abortions are performed on college-age women.
Abortion has masked—rather than solved — the problems women face.
Since 1994, Feminists for Life has worked to address the unmet needs of pregnant and parenting students and staff on college campuses. For the past decade FFL Pregnancy Resource Forums on campuses across the country have revealed the still-unmet needs of pregnant and parenting students — especially a lack of housing, child care, telecommuting options, maternity coverage and medical riders for additi
onal children. FFL found there is rarely a central place on campus for pregnancy and parenting resources. Even when resources are available, they are often not publicized. For pregnant and parenting students kept in the dark about the help they need and deserve, perception is their reality.
Similarly, we must ramp up efforts to systemically address the unmet needs of struggling parents, birthparents, and victims of domestic violence and sexual assault.
This anniversary, thousands of pregnancy care centers, Feminists for Life and other organizations across the country will continue our efforts to help women so that they don’t feel driven to choose between sacrificing their children or their education and career plans.
There was one thing Weddington got right. "Whether she's unmarried; whether she's pursuing an education; whether she's pursuing a career; whether she has family problems; all of the problems of personal and family life, for a woman, are bound up in the problem of abortion."
Abortion is a reflection that we have not met the needs of women.
Forty years after Weddington capitulated to inherently unfair practices against pregnant and parenting women, those on both sides of the abortion debate should unite and say "no" to the status quo. Clearly women deserve better.
Hear the actual recording of Sarah Weddington's oral argument before the US. Supreme Court and Serrin Foster's response.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PKaVuymKg3A
Serrin's opinion editorial was published by the Washington Examiner on Friday, January 25, in observance of the annual March for Life — http://washingtonexaminer.com/article/2519612#.UQKudPLFwtp
Serrin M. Foster is president of Feminist for Life of America based in Alexandria, Va. She is the creator of the Women Deserve Better® than Abortion campaign. Her landmark speech “The Feminist Case Against Abortion” was named one of the “Great Speeches in History” in the anthology called Women’s Rights. [25 Jan 13, FFLA]
PLANNED PARENTHOOD
Planned Parenthood Defrauded Washington State Taxpayers of $377 Million, Lawsuit Claims
Planned Parenthood Preys on College Students
Legislator Now Running Massachusetts Planned Parenthood Abortion League
Brochure Reveals the Truth About Planned Parenthood Defunding Planned Parenthood Closes Four Sites in Wisconsin
Planned Parenthood Abortion Biz Closing Two More Facilities in Iowa
Planned Parenthood Defrauded Washington State Taxpayers of $377 Million, Lawsuit Claims
Alliance Defending Freedom attorneys have filed yet another lawsuit against the Planned Parenthood abortion business to expose abortion giant’s mishandling of taxpayer dollars.
The pro-life legal group alleges Planned Parenthood submitted “repeated false, fraudulent, and/or ineligible claims for reimbursement” to the state of Washington’s Department of Social and Health Services, according to a federal lawsuit made public Tuesday.
http://www.lifenews.com/2013/03/20/planned-parenthood-abortion-biz-defrauded-washington-of-377-million/
Planned Parenthood Preys on College Students
This spring, Students for Life of America’s full-time team is criss-crossing the country starting new pro-life groups. But what some folks may not know is that we spend the a vast majority of our time helping the 705 already active Students for Life groups already in existence – training them to handle anything that is thrown their way on campus.
http://www.lifenews.com/2013/03/21/planned-parenthood-preys-on-college-students-with-abortions/
Legislator Now Running Massachusetts Planned Parenthood Abortion League
One of the latest chapters in the saga of Planned Parenthood’s incestuous, self-perpetuating relationship with the government is playing out in Massachusetts, where State Representative Martha Walz this month took over the leadership of Planned Parenthood League of Massachusetts (PPLM).
http://www.lifenews.com/2013/03/21/legislator-now-running-massachusetts-planned-parenthood-abortion-biz/
Brochure Reveals the Truth About Planned Parenthood
“To me, they were like the good guys; I thought they just handed out the pill and condoms.”
That’s what 47-year-old Karen told HLA about Planned Parenthood (PP)-the nation’s largest abortion chain. No wonder Georgetown grad student Sandra Fluke is its biggest fan. Free contraceptives and free sex. What more could an independent, liberated, young woman ask for?
To Read Brochure: http://www.lifenews.com/2013/02/03/new-brochure-reveals-the-truth-about-planned-parenthood/
Defunding Planned Parenthood Closes Four Sites in Wisconsin
Wisconsin's decision to slash funding for Planned Parenthood has resulted in four business closures, the organization stated today.
Planned Parenthood announced it will be closing four businesses – in Beaver Dam, Chippewa Falls, Johnson Creek, and Shawano – due to state funding cuts. All four locations offer the morning-after pill, which can induce an abortion.
“Wisconsin taxpayers who conscientiously oppose the use of public funds to directly or indirectly subsidize abortion applauded last session’s state budget bill partially defunding Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin, the state’s largest abortion provider," said Matt Sande, Pro-Life Wisconsin's legislative director. "Today they welcome Planned Parenthood’s decision to close four of its state funded birth control centers, centers that refer for surgical abortion and dispense abortifacient contraceptives – often to minor children without parental notification. Pro-Life Wisconsin will continue its hard work to totally defund Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin of all public funds.”
The state slashed $1 million in Planned Parenthood funding from the state's budget in 2011 and deprived the abortion-provider of a $130,000 state contract later in the year.
State funds account for nearly a quarter of the organization's coffers.
The closures are the latest sign that the pro-life movement is achieving new successes by focusing on state legislatures.
Last April, the group stopped distributing abortifacient drugs at all state locations after Governor Scott Walker signed a ban on telemed abortions. Medical abortions accounted for 25 percent of all abortions statewide.
Planned Parenthood maintains 23 additional sites [in WI], including three that perform surgical abortions.
[18 Feb 13, Ben Johnson, CHIPPEWA FALLS, WI, LifeSiteNews.com
Planned Parenthood Abortion Biz Closing Two More Facilities in Iowa
The Planned Parenthood abortion business announced today that it will close two facilities in Iowa. The Planned Parenthood of the Heartland affiliate made the announcement that locations in Spencer and Fort Madison will be closing effective March 15.
Last March, Planned Parenthood closed their abortion sites in Storm Lake and Knoxville. Then, mere months later in
July 2012, they closed their abortion businesses in Newton and the Family Practice Center on Army Post Road in Des Moines. With these new closing, a total of six Iowa-based Planned Parenthood centers will have closed — all of which either perform abortions or make abortion referrals.
http://www.lifenews.com/2013/02/20/planned-parenthood-abortion-biz-closing-two-clinics-in-iowa/